Since the original TV series debuted in 1966, the franchise expanded into a cartoon, 10 movies, four additional TV serials, fan conventions and a documentary about the "Trek" subculture. But with the new prequel, director J.J. Abrams hews closely to the character-driven drama of the original incarnation. Here's how the characters compare, from 1966 to 2009:

Now: Zachary Quinto
"Heroes" star a dead ringer for young Vulcan, but can he master the mind meld and his emotions?

Dr. "Bones" McCoy

Then: DeForest Kelley
The compassionate Enterprise medic is a doctor, not a (fill-in-the-blank). In his career, Kelley was McCoy, but not much else.

Now: Karl Urban
He chopped down Orcs as Eomer in "The Lord of the Rings," now he's Capt. Kirk's informal psychotherapist.

Uhura

Then: Nichelle Nichols
Kirk's communications officer famously smooched her captain, and the actress received accolades as an African-American role model.

Now: Zoe Saldana
Uhura smooches Spock this time. Saldana played a creepy witch in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Scotty

Then: James Doohan
Who hasn't mimicked Doohan's jolly Scottish brogue as the Enterprise's chief engineer? And who hasn't said "Beam me up, Scotty!" -- although the line never was uttered in any "Star Trek" episode/film, ever?